After
reciting the Tashahhud, the Ta’uz and the first
chapter Al Fatiha of the Holy Quran Imam Zafrullah Domun said:

We are
entering the last phase of this month of Ramadan. You will recall
that it is reported that the Holy prophetsaw said that
the month of Ramadan is divided into three parts. The first ten days
are for the manifestation of Allah’s Mercy. The next ten days are
for the manifestation of Allah’s forgiveness and the last ten days
are for our protection from the punishment of the Fire. Alhamdulillah
as from yesterday in Mauritius we have started the last ten days. So
one may ask what do we have to do during these days. How should we
busy ourselves days and night.

First
of all we should all try to follow the example of the Holy Prophetsaw
about whom it is reported by Hazrat Ayeshara when the last
days of Ramadan arrived the Holy prophet used to
tighten his waist belt (i.e. work hard) and used to pray all the
night, and used to keep his family awake for the prayers. Hence we
understand that the Holy Prophet increased his efforts during the
last ten days of Ramadan and so should we if we are interested in
getting Allah’s love. Remember that Allah has told us in the Holy
Quran through the Holy Prophetsaw “say if you love
Allah then follow me and He will love you” and also “ Indeed you
have in the prophet of Allah an example for he who desires Allah and
the last day and remember Allah much.” A Muslim, whether he is a
man or a woman, tries his best to follow into the steps of the Holy
Prophet Mohammadsaw. Of course most of us will fall short
of the example that the Holy Prophetsaw has set because
he was, to use a Sufi term, Al insan al kamil or the Perfect
Man. He is the ideal and our task is to try to imitate him as far as
we can. Our success in this endeavour will be determined by our
determination, our innate capacity and how much Grace Allah will pour
on us. Anyhow whoever sincerely tries will be given a large portion
of what is good.

We also
understand that it was the Holy Prophet’s practice to observe
I’tekaaf during the last ten days of Ramadan and this sunnat
is still alive today after almost 1400 years after his death. As you
know itekaaf is observed in the mosque starting from after
fajr Prayer on the 20th day of Ramadan till the
end. The aim of itekaaf is to be exclusively devoted to Allah
for about ten days. A person leaves his home and all members of his
family and he stays in the mosque for exclusive devotions to Allah
day and night. During this time the person is not allowed to go out
except for natural needs. While they are at the mosque the
Mu’taqefeen engage themselves in prayers, reading of the
Holy Quran and in the remembrance of Allah. They speak whenever it is
necessary to do so. They try to use all the time available to them to
be devoted to Allah. A great Muslim divine named Ibn Qayyum Al Jawzia
(1292-1350) has commented upon the importance of both fasting and
Itekaaf in one of his books and he said:

"Since the
hearts' rectitude and firmness upon the path towards Allah the Most
High, rests upon directing it solely upon Allah and causing it to
turn and give all its attention to Allah the Most High, Since the
disorder of the heart cannot be rectified except by turning to Allah
the Most High, and its disorder will be increased by eating and
drinking too much, mixing with the people excessively, speaking
profusely and sleeping too much. These will cause it to wander into
every valley, and cut it off from its path to Allah, weaken it,
divert it or put a halt to it. From the Mercy of the Mighty and Most
Merciful is that He has prescribed for them fasting, which will cut
off the excesses of eating and drinking, and empties the heart of its
desires which divert it on its journey to Allah the Most High. He
prescribed it in due proportion as will be appropriate and will
benefit the servant, with regard to this world and the Hereafter, and
does not harm him, nor damage what is beneficial for him. He also
prescribed i`tikaf for them, by which is intended that the
heart is fully occupied with Allah, the Most High, concentrated upon
Him alone, and cut off from preoccupation with the creation. Rather
it is engrossed with Him alone, the One free of all defects, such
that remembering Him, loving Him and turning to Him takes the place
of all anxieties of the heart and its suggestions, such that he is
able to overcome them. Thus all his concerns are for Him. His
thoughts are all of remembrance of Him, and thinking of how to attain
His Pleasure and what will cause nearness to Him. This leads him to
feel contented with Allah instead of the people, so that prepares him
for being at peace with Him alone on the day of loneliness in the
grave, when there is no one else to give comfort, nor anyone to grant
solace except Him. So this is the greater goal of I'tikaf"

I know that last
year I read this extract to you. But I have repeated it today just to
remind us about it because Allah says that it is good to remind.

Those who have the
opportunity should make the best of these last days of Ramadan and
seclude themselves exclusively for Allah during these last days. As
for those who cannot do so, at least they should try their best to do
as much devotions as they can during the coming days. The night of
these days are particularly blessed. One of these nights will be the
“laylatul Qadr” which we translate as the night of destiny
or the night of decree. From the Holy Quran we understand that “this
night is better than 1000 months.” So here we can appreciate
Allah’s generosity towards the Muslims that He has given them such
a night of Glory and Magnificence. The Holy Prophetsaw is
reported to have
said “The blessed month has come to you. Allah
has made fasting during it obligatory upon you. During it the gates
to Paradise are opened and the gates of Hellfire are locked, and the
devils are chained. There is a night [during this month] which is
better than a thousand months. Whoever is deprived of its good is
really deprived [of something great]. [Ahmad, an-Nisa'i]
In addition he has also said “Whoever
stands
(in prayer) in Lailatul-Qadr out of (faith and sincerity) and
seeking reward then his previous sins are forgiven". [Bukhari]

So even if we have been negligent in the first twenty
days of Ramadan, Allah still gives us a new opportunity to recoup
what we might have lost. He gives us a new opportunity to have our
sins washed away completely and to start anew. What can we ask for
more! Most probably in order to make it light for us the Holy Prophet
saw has advised the people to look for this great
night
during the odd nights of the last ten days. Furthermore we have
learned through Hazrat Ayeshara that he has told us that
if anyone witnesses that night he should make the following prayer
“Allahoumma innaka afouwoun tohibboul afwa fa’fo anni”
which we translate as “O my Lord , you are the effacer of sins, you
like to efface sins, efface my sins”

During these last days we also understand that the Holy
Prophet who was a very generous person by nature proved to be even
more generous. Whatever he received he distributed amongst the poor.
We learn from the hadith that Ibn 'Abbas said, "The Prophet, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, was the most generous of people,
and he was even more generous during Ramadan when Jibril met
him. Jibril used to meet him every night in Ramadan until it
was over and the Prophet would go through the Qur'an with him. The
Messenger of Allah was more generous with good things than the
blowing wind." [Agreed upon] In a previous sermon we spoke about
how the Holy Prophet advised Muslims to give iftar to those
who are fasting and the benefits that one gets from such a practice.
We should also remember that Islam has imposed on all Muslims who
have means to provide for those who are poor so that they may
participate in the festivities of Eid. All Muslims are expected to
pay Sadaqatul fitr. This sadqa is the equivalent of
four and a half pounds of either rice or flour or a mixture of both
per person. It should be paid prior to salaat e Eid and it should
also be distributed. This practice is one of the highlights of
Islamic teachings which aim at producing equitable societies.
Unfortunately, however we continue to see that even Islamic
Governments have up till now not been able to eliminate poverty in
their midst. Here I am not speaking about countries like Pakistan or
Indonesia or Bangla Desh but about Saudi Arabia, one of the richest
or the richest Islamic country. Recently I read a report in Reuter’s
news that there are about 3 million Saudis who are living below the UNO
poverty line of $1.25 a day or the equivalent of about RS 37 per
day. One can only wonder how come such poverty could exist in a
country which has so much wealth if real Islam was being practiced.
Anyhow Sadaqatul Fitr is there to alleviate some of the misery
of the poor in society.

As a Muslim we believe and we are convinced that
whatever Allah has prescribed for us in the Holy Quran is for our own
benefit. Sometimes those who are victim of the cultural influences of
the west think that practicing Islam is outdated in the modern world.
But we Muslims, we show to the world that we love the teachings of
Islam and we take pride in putting them into practice. We are the
people raised for doing good to others and under no circumstance at
all should we harm anyone either through our tongue or our hands or
even by our looks or our attitude. The Holy Prophet Mohammedsaw
is our guide and it is our duty to try to mould our lives according
to his. Hence the need to learn and study and know exactly as best as
we can what was his practice. By the Grace of Allah, we Ahmadi
Muslims have been privileged to be aware of the way that Hazrat
Masih Maoodas has taught us what real Islam is. We should
do all we can to follow the guidance that we have received from him.

So let us end these last days of Ramadan by making our
prayers as extensive as possible. Besides praying for our own selves
we should also pray for our relatives and all our Muslim brothers and
sisters and we should also pray for the human family as a whole.
These days the Islamic world is as usual in turmoil. But who will put
an end to their misery but Allah. For those who are familiar with the
history of the world the Islamic world has been in turmoil for a long
time and there seem to be no end in sight in the near future for a
majority of the people. Since we have the opportunity to pray and we
are confident of acceptance we should engage ourselves in fervent
supplications to Allah to come to the rescue of the Muslims.
According to the Holy Quran if Muslims are sincere to Allah no enemy
will be able to overcome them whatever his might. So if there is no
victory over the enemies Muslims have to think about what may be the
causes.

May we all use each minute that will be given to us in
the coming days to turn ourselves with full repentance towards Allah
with the hope that our Allah will accept our repentance, efface our
sins and give us plenty of opportunities to do good to meet with His
pleasure. I hope and pray that everyone who will hear or read this
sermon will heed its advices and will try his best to put into
practice the advices given incha Allah.